USS R-9

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USS R-9 (SS-86).jpg
USS R-9 (SS-86), possibly c. early 1940s
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameR-9
Ordered29 August 1916
Builder Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts
Cost$680,028.66 (hull and machinery) [1]
Laid down6 March 1918
Launched24 May 1919
Sponsored byMrs. Mary Stowe
Commissioned30 July 1919
Decommissioned2 May 1931
Recommissioned14 March 1941
Decommissioned25 September 1945
Stricken11 October 1945
Identification
FateSold for scrap, February 1946
General characteristics [2] [3]
Class & type R-1-class submarine
Displacement
  • 574 long tons (583 t) surfaced
  • 685 long tons (696 t) submerged
Length186 feet 3 inches (56.77 m)
Beam18 ft (5.5 m)
Draft15 ft 6 in (4.72 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) surfaced
  • 9.3 kn (17.2 km/h; 10.7 mph) submerged
Range4,700 nautical miles (8,700 km; 5,400 mi) at 6.2 kn (11.5 km/h; 7.1 mph), 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) if fuel loaded into the main ballast tanks
Test depth200 ft (61 m)
Capacity18,880 US gallons (71,500  L; 15,720  imp gal) fuel
Complement
  • 2 officers
  • 27 enlisted
Armament

USS R-9 (SS-86), also known as "Submarine No. 86", was an R-1-class coastal and harbor defense submarines of the United States Navy commissioned after the end of World War I.

Contents

Due to space constraints, the boats built at the Fore River Shipbuilding Company yard, were laid down much later than the boats built at the Union Iron Works and the Lake Torpedo Boat Company yards. Because of this, none were commissioned before the end of WWI.

Design

The R-boats built by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, R-1 through R-14, and the Union Iron Works, R-15 through R-20, are sometimes considered a separate class, R-1-class, from those built by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, R-21 through R-27, R-21-class. [2]

The submarines had a length of 186 feet 3 inches (56.8 m) overall, a beam of 18 ft (5.5 m), and a mean draft of 15 ft 6 in (4.7 m). They displaced 574 long tons (583 t) on the surface and 685 long tons (696 t) submerged. The R-1-class submarines had a crew of 2 officers and 27 enlisted men. They had a diving depth of 200 ft (61.0 m). [2] [4]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 440- brake-horsepower (328 kW) NELSECO 6-EB-14 diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 467-horsepower (348 kW) Electro-Dynamic Company electric motor. They could reach 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) on the surface and 9.3 kn (17.2 km/h; 10.7 mph) underwater. On the surface, the R-1-class had a range of 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 km; 5,400 mi) at 6.2 kn (11.5 km/h; 7.1 mph), or 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) if fuel was loaded into their main ballast tanks. [4]

The boats were armed with four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in the bow. They carried four reloads, for a total of eight torpedoes. The R-1-class submarines were also armed with a single 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber deck gun. [2] [4]

Construction

R-9's keel was laid down on 6 March 1918, by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts]]. She was launched on 24 May 1919, [5] sponsored by Mrs. Mary Stowe, [6] and commissioned on 30 July 1919. [5]

Service history

1919–1931

Following fitting out and shakedown, R-9, operated along the northeast coast primarily in the New London, Connecticut—Newport, Rhode Island. [5]

When the US Navy adopted its hull classification system on 17 July 1920, she received the hull number SS-86. [3]

Ordered to the Pacific, in March 1924, she arrived at Pearl Harbor, her new homeport, on 4 May. Operations and exercises, from individual to fleet in scope, occupied the next six and a half years, and on 12 December 1930, she got underway for return to the Atlantic. Retransiting the Panama Canal in mid-January 1931, she arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, on 9 February, and reported for inactivation. Decommissioned on 2 May 1931, R-9 remained at Philadelphia, berthed with the Reserve Fleet. [5]

1940–1946

In September 1940, R-9 was placed in reduced commission, then moved up the coast to New London, where she completed activation and was placed in full commission, on 14 March 1941. [5]

Within two months R-9 was en route to the Caribbean Sea, and duty under Commander, Panama Sea Frontier. Arriving at Coco Solo, on 27 May, she patrolled the approaches to the vital inter-ocean canal with SubRon 3, into October, then returned north to New London, for overhaul, arriving on 23 May. During December, she was attached to the Submarine School, but with the new year, 1942, the submarine proceeded to Casco Bay, Maine, for operational training. From mid-month on, through the U-boat offensive of 1942 and early 1943, she rotated between New London and Bermuda, to patrol the shipping lanes which transited the Eastern Sea Frontier and the Bermuda Patrol Areas. She shifted to anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training programs, in the spring of 1943, and operated primarily in the New London area for most of the remainder of World War II. In late March 1945 she moved south again, trained with destroyers, destroyer escorts, and escort carriers, off Cuba, and southern Florida. Then, in mid-May, she returned to New London. [5]

Fate

On 20 September 1945, R-9 proceeded to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she decommissioned on 25 September 1945. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 October 1945, she was scrapped in February 1946. [5]

References

Bibliography

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